ROCHDALE'S answer to Jamie Oliver is gearing up for the national Curry Chef of the Year final in Birmingham today. But it was touch-and-go for a while when Farooq Ahmed went down with flu.

But after plenty of bed rest he was able to make the trip to the National Exhibition Centre.

Mr Ahmed of Entwistle Road, a director and chef at the Veenas restaurant in Heywood, will be battling it out with last year's winner, Chad Rahman from St Albans, for the prestigious title and the £3,000 cash prize.

"There are eight competing from all over the country and we will be split into pairs to cook in front of the judges," said 28-year-old Mr Ahmed. "I have been chosen to go on first and I have been paired with Chad Rahman."

Mr Ahmed, who opened the Suhag restaurant on Yorkshire Street, will have to prepare a main course with rice and a side dish in front of a panel of judges including respresentatives from competition hosts, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

The eight contestants will be marked on aroma, taste, texture and appearance as well as food safety and hygiene.

Like Oliver, who turned unemployed teenagers into chefs, Mr Ahmed wants to give young people of different backgrounds the chance to achieve their dreams.

He has already been snapped up to teach Indian cookery classes to 12 and 13-year-olds at a school in Chorley and hopes to do the same in Rochdale.